Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zelda didn’t want to give the weapons back.

The sword, especially, felt linked to her. She liked the way it made her feel brave, the way she could leap into battle without overthinking things. She liked the way it made her feel skilled. She’d never been proficient with a sword before this one. She liked the way it lent her strength. Strength enough to wade into battle beside her echoes like a force of nature rather than coordinating and waiting for them to battle at her direction while she stayed out of the fray.

But she had spent all that time searching Hyrule for any little thing that might make this fight easier. Every weird request, every last rupee the Great Fairy would take, every hidden cave and dungeon she could find. She wasn’t very well going to do all that and then just… decide not to give the weapons to her ally on this fight? Not with the world at stake.

She even tried to smile as she handed them over. See, she had courage of her own. Take that, sword.

***

At first, she didn’t even miss them. Working with Link was amazing. He was so much smarter and stronger than her echoes. (Well, he’d better be after all that time she spent searching for crystals and upgrading those weapons!) She felt in sync with him much the way she’d felt in sync with his sword. Maybe she’s still connected to the sword? Maybe it wasn’t the sword she was connected to? No time to think about that. She pulls, he slices, and Null could never stand against the two of them.

And then there was a chaos of telling everyone what had happened, after saying goodbye to Tri. Zelda felt like she was being pulled apart by the celebrating and grieving happening all at once in her head. She was so glad the threat of Null was, uh, nullified. But she kept turning to tell Tri something only to realize that they weren’t there, that they’d never be there again. She was happy Tri was with their friends, but Zelda was feeling pretty friendless herself in the immediate aftermath.

She wasn’t alone, though. Link had refused to take credit for rescuing her when her dad tried to thank him, and his first words with his restored voice were to tell the whole town how she’d rescued him and to give her credit for all their battle strategy. No one would have blamed him for saying little after so many years, and yet he’d immediately leapt to tell everyone about her bravery and wisdom. It left a glow in her chest even with all the other feelings she had going on.

Zelda thought about the other friends she’d made, trying to hold onto the glow instead of the sadness. But when she pictured Darston, she realized he was must be worrying after that giant rift had opened and then closed. He certainly was no stranger to mixed feelings himself. Even if he’d gotten the worrying under control, he must be wondering. It would be just polite to pop up to Goron City and make sure he knew what had happened and that everyone should be safe from rifts now. This wasn’t the sort of thing that should wait until a royal messenger could get there; it would be much better from her.

It wasn’t until she raised the Tri Rod that she realized that without Tri’s help, she had no idea how to teleport.

In fact, the rod didn’t feel like it was humming with energy any more. It felt still. She tried not to think “dead.” Maybe dormant? Inert? Oh, she hoped it wasn’t “empty” or “used up.”

She had been so busy grieving the loss of Tri that it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might also have lost her access to magic.

Chapter Text

Zelda was too frantic about the rod to miss the sword over the next few hours.

She tried everything she could think of to get the magic to work, but the rod still didn’t feel right. There was the possibility that the magic was gone now that the threat was gone, but she didn’t feel like it was gone. Maybe she was fooling herself so she didn’t go out of her mind with grief and loss?
Thankfully, she had an expert on the magic in her bloodline nearby.

“Impa, my magic isn’t working.”

Impa listened as she explained what she’d tried, then said exactly what Zelda was hoping to hear.

“In all the records we have of your ancestors, they often had less dramatic power after their big historic battles, but journals show many cases where they used magic afterwards. So it would be very strange for it to be gone completely.”

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief, “Then why can’t I access it?”

Impa pondered, “Maybe Tri was helping you guide it and you need to figure out how to do it on your own?”

“But how?”

Impa pulled out volume after volume of histories and journals and they tried several sets of meditations and exercises. The best she got seemed to be a tiny bit of glow around her hands, barely detectable but enough to help her calm down from being frantic and start to believe that it wasn’t a lost cause.

Impa sighed, “I’ll keep researching, but you may have better luck just going back out into the world. A lot of your echo magic was tied to the creatures and things of Hyrule. I think you’ll have better luck out there.”

“I was thinking that I should go visit Darston. He must have seen that giant rift and I don’t want him worrying and getting all in his head when I could go and tell him what happened.” Zelda said. “I may not have all my magic but I don’t want to leave my worrywart friend with questions the royal messenger can’t answer for him.”

“Visiting all the other leaders would probably be a good idea, too. I know you only just got home, but it makes sense for you to continue as a diplomatic envoy as the priestess of wisdom. Not only can you help spread the news of the defeat of Null with more detail than the royal messengers will have, but their elders and archivists might have more ideas about your magic, Zelda. Let me give you a list of people to contact in your travels.”

A quest would be just the thing to take her mind off missing Tri, right?

***

Zelda missed the sword again the moment she saw Link.

The princess had carefully composed what she was going to say to Link in her head a dozen times. Something about how brave he was, how so many people she’d met around Hyrule trusted him, how the leaders would surely want to hear his point of view when she brought news of the battle with Null. How she herself trusted him in battle and even more in diplomacy after he’d deferred to her in front of her father. That she couldn’t teleport but she wanted to go visit Darston first and she’d love to have him along.

But when she found him, he was doing some sort of practice forms with the sword out and a bolt of longing hit her so hard Zelda lost her whole speech.

What actually came out of her mouth was, “Can you come to Goron City with me? Without Tri…”

She was horrified to feel her eyes brim with tears. What’s worse was that Link had been nodding emphatically after the first sentence but now he was looking at her with concern in his eyes, which only made her voice choke off in a sob.

Zelda tried to continue, “Without Tri…”

Then she was crying and Link had his arms wrapped around her while she sobbed into his shoulder. She leaned against him and closed her eyes so she didn’t have to look at the hilt of the sword, so close and so far.

***

Bonus Link inner monologue:

Oh, the princess! Is she looking at me? Tighten those core muscles, gotta do this perfectly if she’s watching. Wait, is that longing? Is she looking at me longingly?!

Wait, wait, she’s talking. Pay attention.

A quest? Yes. YES. I will follow you anywhere.

Is that a tear? Who made you sad? I will FIGHT THEM.

Wait, no, that’s not a sad I can fight. Oh no. Uh. Hug time. Definitely hug time.

Chapter Text

Zelda missed the sword again while she was packing. How many bombs were you supposed to bring on a quest if they didn’t replenish magically? How many arrows?

She was glad that at least she already had a bow. Little 8 year old Zelda had been empathetic enough to notice that her tutors and sparring partners were too afraid of bruising the heir to the throne, so she had marched over to Impa and declared, “I have decided that my weapon of choice will be the bow and you will be my teacher.”

Impa had smiled and done just that. It turned out that a bow in the hand of an 8 year old beginner also left bruises sometimes, but Impa showed her how to hide those if she didn’t want to talk about them. And how to hide in general. Years later, Zelda would realize that the stealth training was probably to help her evade kidnappers, but at age 8 the hide and seek games were among her favourite lessons. And she certainly wasn’t sad to have practice before the first time she had to sneak out of jail, though she hoped Impa hadn’t predicted the sheer number of times she’d do it. It was definitely more fun when it was a game with Dohna, more like it had been as a kid. And she had kind of delighted in sneaking out on the Deku Scrubs given how rude they’d been.

Zelda had gotten good at archery with the single minded focus of a kid who adored lessons with Impa, but she’d only really been allowed to do tournaments, not take out monster camps with her bow. Hence the conundrum of how many arrows to bring.

Finding a sword was a different problem. She wasn’t even sure she’d be able to use a sword other than the Sword of Might and its magic. It wasn’t like there were any strange women lying in ponds distributing magic swords: the Great Fairy was very focused on accessories and had made it clear there was nothing more she could do for Zelda last time they’d talked. Maybe Lueburry would be able to help her eventually, but not before Zelda and Link had planned to leave in the morning.

It was tempting to just not bring a sword and pretend she didn’t need it. But even thinking about his weapons still brought a pang of longing. Perhaps getting her own sword, even a non-magical one, was a step she probably needed to take before she got completely fixated. Ugh. Perhaps she was already fixated. To help her break out of her fixation?

In the end, she’d snuck down to the guards’ practice area to see if she could even use a sword. To her relief, the muscles she’d built climbing cliffs and holding echoes to glide and even tossing rocks were all non-magical, and while she wasn’t a magical swordswoman any more, she wasn’t completely unable to wield on her own. She wiped the sweat from her face and turned to see General Wright watching her. Zelda had never seen the big man so quiet.

“Oh, hello, General Wright. I was making sure I’d be able to use a normal sword on my next adventure.”

“You’re doing better than some of my recruits already! It’s strange to see you wielding a sword without…” he gestured around her body, “the glow.”

“I don’t suppose you have a sword you’d recommend to me? I had to give the other one back.”

“WAIT I HAVE JUST THE THING”

And there he was, running off with his usual energy. Zelda laughed and sat down to drink some water and wait.

General Wright came charging back with a smaller sword and shield in his hands and thrust them out to her.

“These belonged to my daughter when she was your size.”

“Your daughter… the baker?”

“Yes. Before she decided on a safer career, she wanted to learn all about swords. She outgrew these as she got all those big muscles from kneading bread.” He motioned kneading bread while clearly flexing his arm muscles as much as he could and Zelda laughed. “She’s got a bigger set now and asked me to give them to a recruit that needed them. They’re a bit battered but good quality. I think she’ll be delighted if I tell her they went to you.”

Zelda gripped them in her hands. They weren’t magical, but they were tied to her community and her people rather than to mysterious rift magic, and that was something.

“I’d be honoured to use this gift. Thank you, General Wright”

***

By the time she met Link at the castle gate in the morning to start their journey, she almost felt ready. She had her beloved horse from Impa, the sword from General Wright, Link’s cloak, the travel attire from her dad, Tri’s rod… Sure, the rod didn’t work right now but hopefully that was temporary, and it felt right to bring something from Tri on this adventure. Plus she had Link himself coming, which felt like a gift too.

She smiled at herself as she offered her horse a carrot and then swung herself up into the saddle, thinking ruefully to herself that she shouldn’t worry so much when she had so many gifts and was so much more prepared than when she’d run from the castle dungeons. She was so lost in her thoughts didn’t catch Link watching her and smiling until she turned to smile at him herself.

***

Bonus Link internal monologue:
Wait, is that the beautiful horse they wouldn’t let me rent at the stable back before? Of course it would be hers. They look perfect together.

I’m so glad she invited me for a “help a friend” quest and we don’t have the fate of the world hanging in the balance this time. I hope we can just have a good time travelling together.

Chapter Text

Learning to fight all over again with her mix of new and old tools was exhausting.

The automatons were great and she was glad to have them, but they weren’t really the “summon disposable friend” she’d gotten used to with the echoes. You had to protect them in battle or fix them after. She couldn’t very well teleport to Dampé for a quick fix in the middle of a quest any more, so she was learning to do repairs and maintenance herself. Maybe after this trip she’d ask if he could help train her better.

Without Link, she might have gone back to fighting cautiously the way she had at the beginning. But he was able to take monsters out while her automatons distracted them.

The monsters weren’t the only ones who were distracted. Since Zelda was trying to stay back so she could wind another automaton and use her bow to best effect, she was a little apart from the battle and watching. Watching Link with the sword. Watching the way he moved. Had she looked like that? Could she look like that again?

It was probably only a matter of time before Link caught her. She was winding an automaton and just staring when he glanced her way to check on her in the midst of battle. He caught her gaze and she flushed. Did he know it was the sword or did he think she was staring at him? And then one of the monsters moved in and they went back to focusing.

They hadn’t talked much, it was true. While he could talk now, he was clearly out of practice having lost his voice to the rifts for so long. It should have made her miss Tri more, but somehow it helped that he was clearly a different (but not worse!) travelling companion. He showed his faith in her in the way they worked together: Link could easily have focused on protecting her, especially given how clumsy she still felt with her new sword and how she was clearly not used to using the automatons so heavily. But instead he trusted her to keep up her part of things just like he had in the still world only perhaps a bit more patiently. He stayed near automatons as needed, expected her to take out sentries with her bow. It wasn’t the way she worked with Tri, but she liked the way she and Link worked together.

It wouldn’t do if she ruined it all by staring at him! She wanted him to feel that she trusted him the way he’d demonstrated his trust in her.

She was carefully hammering out a dent in her tocktorok at the end of the day when Link came over and tapped her on the shoulder. He was holding a pair of beat up wooden swords with a big grin. He held one out to her and mimed sparring.

Zelda bit back a sigh of relief. He’d understood why she was staring! She grinned back and took the beat up monster sword and mimicked his stance.

After a few minutes where he was definitely going easy on her, she stepped weirdly and he knocked her wooden sword out of her hand. She nearly cried. But then he picked it up and placed it in her hands, adjusting her grip, not looking at her face and she wondered if he’d noticed the tears at the edge of her eyes or if he was just really focused on helping her. The feel of his hands on hers grounded her in the moment. It wasn’t time to feel sad about what she didn’t have, she needed to learn. She would concentrate, be happy to have a teacher. They went slower after that, with him pausing to demonstrate or help adjust her body so her stance was wider, her elbows more tucked in, her sword held higher at an angle to protect her face.

Although she’d vowed to concentrate, focusing on all the things she needed to learn and the feel of his hands was almost too much. There was enough space while he helped her adjust that Zelda found herself talking. First she talked about weapons – she explained about General Wright giving her the sword and how it made her feel but that she was worried she didn’t have the skill she needed really. He got her to pull out the sword and worked with her on grip and stance with the nicer hilt. She told him the story of deciding to take up the bow with Impa. Link smiled and nodded and gestured at her to continue while still nudging her body into new positions as her arms started to burn. Sometimes he looked like he might say something, but then he kept making a face that she thought maybe meant he couldn’t find the words Zelda tried to be patient and tried to not clam up herself. He was patient with her learning swordsmanship, she could be patient too. Maybe conversation was a thing they could learn together as they went.

***

Bonus Link Internal monologue:

She keeps staring at me. Does she know she’s doing it? Do I look weird when I fight? No, she looks… intense? Admiring? I love the way she focuses.

Is she checking me out? Or is she checking out my sword form? Oh, quick, don’t make eye contact. She’ll be so embarrassed.

Oops. Wow, she’s really staring this time. Definitely caught her eye. Oh, that blush! She’s so pretty. Am I blushing? I’m probably blushing too. Thank the godesses she’s not looking. She’s looking everywhere but me now. Probably just as well; battle’s not over.

What do I do? I don’t want her to be nervous to look my way. I like when she looks at me. And she needs to look at me for us to fight this well.

Fighting! That’s it! Let’s see, where did her automaton take out those moblins? I know what to do.

Okay, it’s cool if I tap her on the shoulder, right? Is there protocol for touching the princess I should know about? Did I already commit treason by hugging her? Why didn’t I ask Lueburry before I left? She doesn’t seem very much into protocol, though, and she she hasn’t said anything. I should ask her how she feels about it and not what protocol says. If I could just convince myself to say things to her. Do you think she’d learn some signs? I should have brought more paper. No no, I can’t write while we’re riding or fighting. And I *want* to talk to her. My voice works, I *can* talk to her now. This will be fine. Fighting first. Talking later.

Come on, come on, take the sword. Please take it. We can train! Together!

(We can do everything together.)

Okay, touching is fine for swordplay, or at least she isn’t telling me off. This was a great idea. She’s learning so quickly. I like having a partner.

Wait, she’s talking at me.

WHAT DO I DO?

Uh, smile. Nod. Yes, keep talking. I like hearing your voice. I want to know more about you.

I need to figure out how to talk to her.

Chapter Text

Zelda was exhausted. She missed her bed echoes and post-battle naps. She’d finally collapsed on a stone in the middle of the field, pulled out a smoothie, and told Link she needed a minute. Zelda had offered him one too but he’d shaken his head and was staring intently at the grass. Probably looking for ropes and zols, she figured, though from up on her rock she didn’t think they’d be a threat while she took a break.

The flash of his sword drew her attention and she realized with a smile that Link was spinning through the grass, joy written in his motions and his face.

Oh, she wanted to see that smile always.

Zelda pulled out her goldfinch and wound it up to help him collect the rupees from the grass. She watched it flit around him for a bit, then she had a thought.

“Hold on a sec, I want to show you something.”

A quick costume change later and she was spinning through the grass too. She turned, flushed and happy. “Look, the outfit makes spinning even better. I can clear more grass!”

Link is staring. Zelda flushed, wondering if she’s gone too far putting on a Gerudo outfit to show him, but then he opens his mouth.

“Can I try?”

Wait, did he just… speak?

Wait, did he just… ask to try her clothes on?

“Uh, it’s a Gerudo vai outfit…”

Link flicks his hand towards her shoulder then his own. “I think we’re about the same size.”

That… is not the part that she was worried about. But if vai clothes don’t bother him. Well, most Gerudo are much taller than she is but Link is indeed about her size so he’s right, it might fit. His cloak certainly fit her. She hands the outfit over, and watches him try it out.

Oh, there’s that smile. And that flush on his cheeks as he spins. Oh, wow, he looks amazing. Zelda could watch him all day like this. Wearing her clothes, spinning with delight, knowing she’s watching and not minding.

He spins until there’s only a tiny patch grass left where their horses are grazing, then thumps down on the rock beside her while she winds and releases the goldfinch automaton again then pulls another smoothie out and offers it to him.

Link smiles at her and takes the smoothie. He makes a gesture with his hand while he says aloud, “Thank you.”

She’s pretty sure he doesn’t mean just for the smoothie. She can’t stop smiling at him.

Zelda nudges his shoulder, trying not to question if she’s allowed to touch him. Link had been correcting her gently during sword practice, so touching isn’t weird. She doesn’t want this to be weird. “You looked amazing. You should try some of my other outfits! I have one for talking to cats.”

“Cats?”

She tells him the story of helping the old man find his friend, then of the cat who wanted a smoothie for her friend. Though there’s no cats about, he tries on the outfit and of course he looks adorable.

“Maybe talking to cats will be easier than talking to people,” he muses, touching the soft fur of the cat ears.

“So it is hard, having had no voice for so long?”

“Sometimes. Talking to Lueburry was okay right after we got back, since we could combine signing and speaking as needed,” Link gestures a bit as he says this, though she’s not sure if those are words or he’s just emphasizing what it would look like. “But I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk to you all day.”

“And the dancing outfit finally broke you?” Zelda grins at him, trying to tease. She loves the idea that he was actually thinking about talking to her all day, and she can feel her cheeks warming from more than the sun.

“I can’t resist a good outfit,” he grins back.

“Hey, if you don’t mind vai clothes, maybe we can try an experiment. See, I had to disguise myself when there were all these wanted posters up for me, and I was surprised to find that people really didn’t recognize me with your cloak. Tri and I have a theory that the guards have gotten so used to my customary apparel that we could get someone else to wear it and sneak in as me.” She feels a pang mentioning Tri, but it’s a good thing, thinking about the fun they had together. Zelda is smiling and it takes her a moment to look up to see the upset look in Link’s eyes.

“Wait, there were wanted posters up for you? What happened?”

Oh, oh, she hadn’t told him that part in Castletown because the citizens already knew about her father being replaced by an echo and declaring her a criminal. She doesn’t think she can handle telling him that story while the sun is high in the sky and they’ve been sharing joy rather than sorrows. “Uh, it’s a long story. I promise I’ll tell you after we camp for the night if you promise to try wearing the dress and walking in to the castle to see if the guards stop you sometime, though.”

Link laughs, “Well, I did tell you I can’t resist a good outfit.”

***

Bonus Link Internal monologue:

I TALKED TO HER. She wants to talk more later! I didn’t scare her off!

Do you think she’ll really let me wear her dress?

Chapter Text

Zelda still missed Tri, but actually conversing with Link was an even more different experience than it had been when she was doing all of the talking. Link taught her some sign language, which helped. A lot of what he and the villagers and Lueburry had worked out was focused around directing people to avoid rifts and monsters, and it turned out it was pretty useful to be able to communicate silently when approaching monsters too, so she got more practice on some signs than others. And she wasn’t sad that learning sign meant even more time looking at him. She’d never thought about how facial expressions would have to communicate tone and emphasis without sound. She suspects they’re getting a lot better at reading each other’s faces as a side effect and it’s not a bad thing.

It felt so good to talk with someone who understood feelings and who’d been able to move inside the rifts. Tri saw the rifts mostly as problems to be solved, but Link understood when she talked about how they were scary and beautiful at the same time. How lonely it could be inside one. How fun it was to figure out how to cross the unnatural terrain. He couldn’t believe how she’d gotten around when she explained.

“Beds?”

“They’re longer than a table and you can stack them. Perfect for naps and bridging gaps.”

“Wouldn’t a bridge be better for bridging?”

Zelda snorted at the wordplay, then answered factually. “You’d think, but I couldn’t figure out a way to do bridge echoes. I guess they were too big. How did you get around the bigger gaps?”

Link signed “monsters” then mimed jumping on one and then across. Then grabbing one and swinging across. He looked delighted.

Zelda shuddered, “But if you missed you’d fall!”

Link shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes at him and said flatly, “You fell a lot.”

Link rubbed the back of his neck and looked sheepish.

“Even if the rifts threw you back to the ledge, falling was terrifying!” Zelda looked aghast. “I could never keep hurtling myself into the void like that and hoping. What if one time the rift magic just let you keep falling? No wonder everyone kept telling me how brave you were.”

Link grinned at her and flexed his left arm then winked, startling a laugh out of her.

Maybe they shouldn’t have been talking about fear of falling before they started the ascent up to Eldin Volcano, though.

***

While re-learning swordplay had seemed like the more achievable skill, Zelda hadn’t only been practicing with Link. She’d been slowly trying to work on her magic on her own.

At first, she thought maybe she’d need to relearn the echoes without the rod’s help, so she’d studied every object and monster they defeated, but she couldn’t see the telltale shimmer of magic anywhere. After every break they took, she tapped things with her rod, touched them with her hands, tried to bind things, and even sat and tried the meditations Impa had taught her while visualizing teleporting to the checkpoint near Goron City.

Zelda was starting to suspect that she was probably sabotaging her teleportation efforts because she was too worried about leaving Link behind. Every time she felt like she’d got a firm vision of where to go she would start imagining him turning, seeing her gone, and panicking. Her concentration would fracture, remembering how she’d felt watching him vanish into the rift.

Finally, she made a noise of frustration and flopped down in the grass. Link looked over from where he was once again practicing some sort of sword form but she gestured that she was fine and that he should continue. Groaning, she rolled over and adjusted her position so she could watch him. Not the sword any more, him. Watching him still felt like a guilty pleasure, even though he’d told her that he’d learned a lot about footwork from watching Lueburry, and she was pretty sure that was his way of inviting her to watch him. It looked almost like a dance, the way he moved. Slower than a real fight and less chaotic, more stylized. She could see what he meant about footwork: he seemed stable and grounded in a way she hadn’t managed yet while swinging her sword. The sword forms didn’t showcase joy like spinning through the grass did, and she studied Link’s face wondering what he was feeling or if it was all concentration. In the late afternoon light, he seemed to glow. Something about that was tugging at her brain, but she couldn’t quite pin down the thought.

Maybe she could convince him to teach her the longer set of motions he was doing. They probably weren’t strictly necessary for monster fighting but they looked like they used a lot of the same muscles. He was a good teacher and she wanted to look beautiful and strong like he did. Zelda wondered if there were paired sword forms they could do together. She wondered if Link knew how to dance. She wondered if he’d be willing to dance with her the way they sparred. Perhaps it was all that visualizing practice, but she lost herself for a moment, imagining his hand around her waist, moving in a waltz together.

***

Bonus Link internal monologue:

Okay, I don’t know if she’s watching and I’m not going to look. I’m not. But I’m going to go slow in case she is. I want this to look possible, like she could learn too. And she can. She can do so much. I just need to go slow. She needs me to go slow.

[mentally humming a slow waltz tune to keep time while he moves through the forms]
One, two, three…
Four, five, six…

Chapter Text

Zelda was glad that they’d already been sharing clothes because it made feel perfectly natural to get Link to take turns with the climbing band to speed up their ascent. Climbing smoothies were great but why not take all the advantages? It was a long climb without teleportation or echoes and binding. She missed being able to follow a crawltula up the cliff or hop on a platboom so much it almost hurt, but sharing gear was nice and also a distraction from wanting things to be different.

She supposed the clothes sharing had really started when she picked up his cloak. Zelda was so glad Link hadn’t asked for it back, but she supposed explaining how hiding with it had saved her might have clued him in to how much it meant to her now. She’d already made a note in her journal to figure out how to find a suitable replacement for him. Maybe it was time to dust off her embroidery skills.

She pulled herself up to the next ledge and took a couple of deep breaths before tossing the band down to Link. They’d done this several times without incident, but this time, she was tired, and maybe a little distracted imagining giving him a present, and her aim was a bit off. The band went close to the edge, and Link leapt.

“NO!” she screamed, reaching out a hand even though she was so far away, too far away. Zelda’s vision practically blanked out with images of him falling off, falling into the rift, falling away from her.

There was a gentle thud. She opened her eyes. She didn’t even realize she’d shut them in her panic.

Link was holding the climbing band, half sprawled on a bed perched precariously off the edge of the cliff. He signed that he was okay at her, then started laughing.

Her brain hadn’t even caught up to what had happened when he yelled up at her “You really do solve all problems with beds!”

***

Link climbed up to join her on the next ledge, and they took a rest while her heart took forever to calm down. And then she couldn’t figure out how to make another echo. Her hands had been empty for climbing when it happened, so she decided not to even take the rod out of her pack. She tried to remember the feeling so she can make it happen again. Tried concentrating, tried reaching.

Link wasn’t impatient, exactly, but his idea of being helpful was infuriating. He offered to throw himself off the cliff again to trigger the fear, on the assumption that the adrenaline and heart rate had probably helped her breakthrough.

“I trust you, Zelda. Come on, let me go.”

She spluttered at him while continuing to grip his arm. She never wants to let him go. He needs to be safe and beside her. She doesn’t say any of that. Instead, she says, “I do not trust me with your life!”

“That’s not really true, you’ve had my back through all this monster hunting.”

“THAT’S DIFFERENT.”

“So you need a monster involved? I’m going to go grab that torch slug!” Link wiggled out of her grip, jumped away from her and started up the cliff. At least it was the one going up and not the one going down.

“LINK.”

He turned and yelled back. “Look! I got your heart rate up again! Try again now!”

She made a rude gesture and conjured a water cube echo over his head between him and the torch slug.

He grinned at her, then reached up to touch the cube and splash a handful of water on his face. She glared at him.

“Admit it, I’m the most effective teacher you’ve ever had.”

“Ugh. Maybe.”

***

They practiced for a while because she wanted to make a platboom echo to carry them both. Link, it turned out, was entirely too good at teasing her even though she told him multiple times that heart rate probably had nothing to do with it and STOP POURING CHILLY CACTUS SMOOTHIE DOWN MY BACK WHILE I’M CONCENTRATING.

The annoying part was that she actually was having an easier time calling them when Link meddled and they both knew it.

When she was starting to get genuinely frustrated and not just flustered, he stopped needling her for a few minutes and started digging around in his pack, and Zelda got distracted trying to figure out why he was stacking apples into his shield to heat on the hot rocks. Link watched them intently for a few minutes before picking one apple up; It was clearly hot from the way he bounced it back and forth in his hands for a second, then he grinned at her and tossed it towards her face. That miserable…! Zelda jerked to one side, conjuring a platboom between them. The apple bounced off it, then it slammed down to crush the rest. When it lifted up, Link grabbed the shield full of now squashed apples and crowed delightedly at her, “Applesauce!”

By the time they reached Goron City, they were both covered in dust and squashed ingredients. Link was licking the last of the warm applesauce off his shield. The first Goron they saw practically squeaked, “Zelda! Let me get the chief!”

Darston came rolling out before they even made it up the stairs.

“Zelda, what’s happening?! Is it bad?”

Link started laughing so hard he couldn’t even sign anything.

Zelda swiped some dust off her face and tried not to laugh herself, but she couldn’t help the smile. So much for avoiding panic and worry. At least the worry would be short-lived this time. “No, Darston. It’s good. I promise.”

Darston looked at her suspiciously. She launched into a short explanation of why they’d come.

“But why are you… “ Darston gestured at the dishevelled Hylians. “I was told you’d arrived looking like you’d just had a battle, that’s why I rushed out here.”

“Link just has… unorthodox training methods when it came to helping me with my echoes.” Zelda glared at him again and he stuck his tongue out at her.

Darston looked at her skeptically for a second, then shrugged. It was clear that he thought the two of them were being weird, but he didn’t want to ask right now. “Well, let’s gather everyone so you only have to tell the full story once. Then I’m pretty sure everyone will want to celebrate the end of the rifts!”

Darston looked at the two of them. They didn’t look like royal envoys and bearers of good news. “But, uh, maybe you should both clean up a bit before anyone else sees you. You two look like you tried to fight the business scrub and lost.”

Link signed something and Darston looked to Zelda in hope that she’d translate, but she was busy glaring at Link. “I know I don’t know much sign but calling him a `monster` is just rude. No, I don’t think `tree` is better. And I don’t care if you could take him, we are not fighting the business scrub. We need more smoothies thanks to you!”

***

Bonus Link Internal monologue:

Hah! Unorthodox training methods! I’m letting her do all the talking forever. Look at his face!

Hmm, could I have gotten away with kissing her and claiming it was to get her heart rate up for training? Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Maybe we can train again later?

Wait, LOST a fight? I could totally take that scrub anytime!

Chapter Text

Zelda was very tempted to get some petty revenge for the smoothie attack when she pulled out clean outfits for them to wear, but she was tired and she wasn’t sure Link would even be embarrassed to wear any of what she had on hand. Maybe the stamp outfit, but probably only because he hadn’t earned it and he’d probably enjoy hunting for stamps. She should show him the stamp station up here and see if he’d started a card yet.

It wasn’t until she was holding out a green tunic to Link that it occurred to her that maybe it was weird that she had clothing that looked pretty much like what he had been wearing earlier. But instead of commenting on that, he said, “What, not the dress?” startling a laugh out of her.

“No, I think we should probably look like ourselves for this.”

“Nervous?”

“Maybe? I’m used to talking to crowds but this story is a lot more personal,” Zelda admitted.

“I was going to let you do the talking, but I’ll be right there.” Link stepped closer to her and bumped her shoulder with his. “Let’s stand close so you can nudge me if you need me to talk for a bit, ok? I should be fine since we’re telling a story I already know.”

She looked at Link’s face, which was really quite close to hers. Unfortunately, the second thing she noticed was that his expression was definitely not as confident as his words. “You’re nervous about the talking?”

Link nodded emphatically, his eyes a little too wide. “I’m not a trained princess!”

“See, this is why you can’t wear my dress today.”

He laughed and went to put on clean clothes.

***

The Gorons were a great audience and telling everyone went fine. People had lots of questions, including about Tri. When Zelda’s voice hitched, Link picked up the thread with his, giving her a moment to compose herself before he let her take the lead on story telling again. Darston was right that everyone wanted a celebration once they’d been reassured that the rifts were gone for good. Basa promised fireworks in the evening and most of the adults headed off in various directions to get ready for a party at nightfall.

Link was re-enacting some kind of battle for a couple of delighted Goron kids when Darston pulled Zelda aside. “It’s hard to believe we won’t see Tri again. I’m going to miss them. They were… Well, maybe a bit impatient and I felt like they didn’t really get why I wasn’t as direct and filled with purpose as they were. But seeing myself from their perspective and yours actually helped a lot.”

“I’m glad we were able to help. I miss Tri so much. I feel like I should be happy for Tri the way they were so thankful to have completed their task. But I feel so sad and I miss them a lot.” Zelda gave a smile that was only a little watery.

“Look, I know the way Tri is gone is very different from the way my dad is gone, but…” Darston trailed off for a moment before continuing. “Never seeing someone again is really hard. And figuring out how to do things without them is hard. I know you’ve got a lot to do right now but if you want to talk about it, now or later, I wouldn’t mind. It’s easier with a friend. You can even send me a letter if that’s less scary than talking. Or come back anytime. It’s not like it goes away all at once.”

Zelda feels the tears running down her cheeks now, “Here I was worried and rushed out here right away thinking you might be a ball of stress thanks to the last rifts, but I’m the one who’s a mess.”

“You’re not a mess! You’re my friend! Honestly, I’m glad you thought of me and came here; it’s going to be nice to celebrate and not have to wonder what happened any more.” Darston smiled and patted her gently on the back. “But speaking of messes... You’re going to have to explain ‘unorthodox training methods’ to me now. You said it was something with your echoes? How did you get so covered in stuff?”

Zelda swiped a hand across her cheeks and smiled at her friend. “I guess I owe you that explanation too.”

***

It was almost time for the fireworks to start when Link came up behind and whispered in her ear, “I have a problem only a bed can solve.”

Zelda flushed bright red and stammered, “What?”

Link grinned at her. “What kind of problems have you been solving with beds?” he teased, gesturing to her hot cheeks. But then he didn’t wait for an answer (what answer would she even give to that?) and he distracted her by grabbing her hand to pull her away from the crowd.

He led her to a slightly more isolated spot with a good view of where Basa was setting up the fireworks, and pointed at the ground. “Perfect spot, but not comfortable. Bed?”

She waved her free hand at the spot and a clone of her own bed appeared.

“Aw, you did it without being surprised,” Link gave her a look she couldn’t interpret. “I had a plan!” Then he looked at the bed again, “Wait, this one is different. How many beds can you summon?”

“This one is mine from the castle, but it takes more energy than the simpler one so I actually can’t summon a lot of copies. Not so good for problem solving unless the problem is not being comfortable enough.”

Link looked oddly delighted with this response. “Oh, we’ll have to share? That will work!” He tugged on her hand, still held in his, pulling her down to sit on her bed together. He only released her hand to adjust the pillows so they could both lie down and look up.

Zelda tried to convince herself that she was just feeling the heat from the lava but she was pretty sure she was deluding herself. Link was on her bed. Next to her! She couldn’t even look at him to try to figure out what he was thinking because he was so close and there was so little light. She was trying to figure out what to say when she saw the first firework zipping towards the sky and she pointed just before it exploded. As the fireworks continued, she found herself relaxing. He was right that this was the best way to watch, and it was nice to be a bit away from everyone after a long day of talking. It felt a little strange to be lying in her own bed next to Link but not bad strange. It felt more like tingles. Maybe a bit like magic.

She wanted to just relax into the moment, but once she’d thought about magic she had a little panic… what if she needed Link to trigger her magic, the way she’d needed Tri? He’d been involved in all the attempts that actually worked. Maybe it wasn’t heart rate or adrenaline but... him? Zelda had a moment of indignant thought about wanting her magic to come from her and her alone, but then she thought of Darston saying “It’s easier with a friend.” Maybe her magic was always meant to be done with a friend? Would it be so bad? Would Link want to stay with her? Would he leave like Tri when their goal was accomplished and she’d have to figure it out again?

Link nudged her, “You ok?”

Zelda sighed, of course he’d somehow noticed her spiralling thoughts. “I was wondering if maybe the common denominator in when my magic works isn’t heart rate, it’s you. Just lying here next to you feels a little like the magic.”

He waited a moment for another set of fireworks to explode. “Could be my heart rate not yours. My heart has started going crazy around you.”

She turned her head to look at him, but he was watching the sky as a large volley of fireworks lit up the night and it was too loud to talk again. So she moved a little closer and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, hoping she could convey that she liked him too with action instead of words.

As the booms died away, she realized Link had gone completely still.

“Oh no, did I mis-read you?” Zelda whispered.

Link chuckled. “No, it’s not that. It’s…” He rubbed a hand over the other side of his face. “I had this plan to ask you for a bed then kiss you on the cheek and claim it was training. But you were so fast.” Another set of fireworks lit up the night and it was too loud to talk for a moment before he continued. “I figured you’d glare at me for messing with you and the fireworks would start; I wasn’t prepared for talking.”

Zelda gave a light chuckle as more fireworks erupted and she had to wait to speak again. “Maybe fireworks is a bad time to talk anyhow.” Feeling more confident that it wasn’t a rejection, she rested her head against him and tangled her fingers in his. “We can just enjoy the moment and talk more after we’re done in Eldin, okay?”

Link took a shaky breath then let it out as he relaxed against her. “Okay.”

***

Bonus Link internal monologue:

Wait, she just… made the bed? I didn’t get to do anything?

Hm, okay, backup plan: there’s only one bed. Distract her before she thinks about that.

Oh, no, she’s definitely thinking. So much thinking. Is she ok? Was this too much? I am on her bed. Wait, I’m on HER bed. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

Wait, that was... ugh. She’s having a magical crisis and that’s what I said? Goddesses, why does my brain have no filter? It was safer when I had no voice.. Stop flirting and be supportive nex...

She kissed me? SHE kissed ME?

Yeah, okay, I need take the out she’s giving me and shut up before I say something stupid. Again. Or maybe that wasn’t stupid if she kissed me? What if she only kissed me because she thinks she needs me to stick around for the magic? I’m so confused.

Oh, oh, hush. I’m clearly in no state to talk right now and we have time. Just enjoy the moment.

I like this moment. I think we’re okay.

Chapter Text

Zelda was glad she’d arranged to meet with Darston first thing in the morning because it gave her an excuse not to dwell on last night. She’d asked the chief the day before about Goron magic history, and it turned out that a lot of Gorons who’d awakened some kind of magic had become chiefs. Unsurprisingly, her studious chief friend had spent an absurd amount of time studying all the stories of chiefs he could get his hands on as he tried to prepare for leadership. So Darston had offered to help her dig up anything that might help.

“Honestly Darston, I’m not even sure what I’m looking for. Teleportation and echoes aren’t exactly common magic, maybe none of this applies to me?”

“I don’t know, Zelda. You said your first echo this trip was to stop Link from falling?” Dartson mused. “There seem to be a few tales of awakening protection magic in an emergency, maybe they’ll help?”

Darston told her some stories, pulled out some slates with historical records and Zelda took notes. She thought about whether the trigger for her magical breakthrough could have been protecting Link rather than some magic resonance between the two of them. That was closer to his theory about adrenaline and it didn’t seem impossible. And if it was like the Goron tales, the magic would stay without needing to be re-triggered. Or maybe it wasn’t any of that and she just had needed time? Or not meditating? Movement? Being out in the world as Impa had suggested? Did it matter now that her echoes were working? Was the feeling she had around Link unrelated to this magic? A different magic?

Eventually she stopped thinking about herself and got caught up in learning Goron history, even the parts that were possibly more legends and stories than fact. And it was really nice to talk about leadership and magic and what it was like to step into the role of a chief (or a princess) with Darston. It was so nice to just talk to a friend, to *this* friend, whose thoughts had walked such similar paths to her own.

“You know, if you’re having fun with the legends, you should see if Elders Shiv and Gol are free? They’ve got a better flair for telling stories and who’s to say the version they tell isn’t as true as the one on this slate?”

So later that day, Zelda had found Link and convinced him to help her drag a truly staggering amount of rock roast over to see if Shiv and Gol were up for telling some stories. She still wasn’t sure if the Goron elders were really forgetful or canny negotiators, but it seemed only polite to bring food.

She wasn’t sure if Link would stay, but after the plunked down a bed to sit on, he sat next to her and pulled out a notebook, and they spent a lovely few hours listening to tales of Gorons of old as well as magical volcano creatures. (There were also some digressions about the best rock roasts they’d ever eaten.) She was so enraptured asking questions of the elders that she hardly noticed anything until the last tale was done and Shiv and Gol and declared that it was naptime and rolled off. Then she looked at Link and saw that him checking pages and pages of careful, neat handwriting, plus a drawing of rock roast with some notes around it.

“Wow, you’re good at this!”

Rather than talking, he turned to a new page and wrote: “Had to be.”

“Oh, right, you’d have to write neatly and fast to communicate. Still, it’s an impressive skill. I should have brought you to talk with Darston this morning; my notes are much messier. At least he’s got original sources if I can’t figure out my notes later, though. I love oral history but I do worry that one day their forgetfulness is going to be the type not fixed by rock roast. I’m glad you took time to write so many of their stories down.”

Then a flash of excitement lit up her face. “You should come with me to all the other cities! We could collect so many stories together!”

Link’s face lit up too. “YES” he wrote then he turned to beam at her for a second before he wrote one more word: “please” and then he underlined it a few times.

Zelda felt all warm. He wanted to keep doing things with her? Enough to not just say yes but also please, like he was asking too.

“I’m so excited! I…” she sobered a little then continued more shyly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to do more with me after this trip was done.”

Link tapped the word “please” a few more times.

Zelda smiled at him. “I’m so glad you’re up for more travelling together.” Then before she could think too hard about it, she wrapped him in a hug. “Thank you,” she murmured against his neck. Then she pulled back and said, “Before it gets dark, I’ve got something you just have to try. Let’s go find Disian!”

Zelda led Link up to where a couple of Goron kids were chatting. She introduced him to Seko and Disian and told them she wanted Link to try the gliding course. Link kept shooting her amused looks as the brothers gave him instructions about the “Eldin Death Road of Pain” and regaled him with stories of Zelda’s mastery of the course.

“So then we showed her the new course, and she leapt right into it! And even after she got singed that first time, she was back up here and trying again. I never knew Hylians could be so tough! You’re so tiny! But even Gorons usually need a bit more of a break after they take a hit like that.”

Zelda was starting to get embarrassed. Did Link think she’d brought him here just to show off? She wasn’t even intending to do the course today; she just thought he’d like to try it.

But then the kids paused in their narration and Link turned to her to smile. “So you did solve problems my way too! What happened to the superiority of beds, princess?”

She attempted her haughtiest tone to tease back, “I’ll have you know, swordsman, that I have many skills.”

He grinned and came over to pick up the automaton she’d wound for him to use in case the course took him out of echo range. Hm, they should probably test to see if her echo ranges were any different now, she thought. Then all her thoughts scattered as Link placed his hands over hers to take the automaton without letting it unwind. He glanced down at it, then whispered in her ear, “many skills.” And as her face flamed, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek then leaped off the edge before she could react any further.

What was that? Was he talking about the automaton she’d handed him? The gliding? The fact that she was learning to use her sword still? Wait, was he talking about last night’s kiss? Something else? What was she supposed to do?

But when he reached the end of the course, he was flushed from the heat and beaming and so excited he signed “again? again?” at Disian which she then had to translate. How dare he get her all flustered and then… then…

Oh, she didn’t even know what she wanted to do. But definitely something, she thought, as she watched him glide along the cliffs again.

***

Bonus Link Internal Monologues:

Hm, not sure if I’m invited to this but stories sound like fun. Maybe I can take notes?

Yes, yes, yes. Travelling with you and listening to stories sounds amazing. Please let me come with you. I will follow you anywhere.

Have I told her that? Can I tell her that? We probably need to talk about her magic first so she doesn’t feel like she’s dragging me around like I’m a magic sword she needs for a quest. But I’ve wanted to stay with her since the beginning. Even if there’s magic or something else involved, it feels right.

***

Zelda gave me so much flack about jumping off things with monsters and then these kids tell me she’s a master of the“Eldin Death Road of Pain?!” And she brought me here without trying to hide it because she knew I’d love it? I love her so much.

Glide, up, dodge, glide glide up! Fire? Glide, up! Glide, up. Fire! Up! Glide, down. Again! Again!

Chapter Text

When it came time to leave Eldin, Zelda and Link decided to glide down to Kakariko village where they’d left their horses. It was so much faster than climbing down. (Not faster than teleporting, Zelda lamented to herself, then berated herself for not being greedy when she’d only just gotten her echoes working again.)

Once they landed safely, Zelda took a moment to put the goldfinch automaton away and stretch before dismissing her needlefly echo. She turned to find Link looking at her pensively.

“You know, I don’t think you actually need me for the echoes.” Link started. “We should do some experiments, maybe try out of line of sight and different distances. But my gut says you don’t need me any more.”

“Your gut is probably still digesting that rock roast you tried, so that feeling is probably indigestion. But you’re right, experiments would be a good idea.”

Link stared at her for a second. “I… I expected an argument.”

Zelda sighed. “And you might have gotten one earlier, but the echoes are getting easier. And Darston pointed out that having magic activated by a protective impulse is a thing that happened to Goron magic users too, but none of them needed a key for their magic forever. I mean, we could still be linked because of the rifts or the goddesses, and I’m not even sure how we’d disprove that, but I still need to know if there are ranges and limitations on the echoes that are different than before. So experiments make sense either way.”

Link signed “now?” since it was one of the words she actually recognized consistently.

“Actually, sure. Let’s try having you go into the shop so you’re out of line of sight and… oh, wait! The dojo! That would help us do a blind test because I wouldn’t know how close you are or aren’t!”

“The dojo?” Link looked at her curiously.

“Oh, you’re going to love this! Come meet them!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the “sketchy” corner of Kakariko.

After a quick intro at the dojo, they experimented. First with distance – her echoes vanished at around the same range she remembered if she walked away from them, they worked even if Link was in the shop, and they worked in the dojo even when Link claimed he’d walked well out of range during her training sessions. Link laughed as she made a giant stack of beds to test how many she could summon. All of the magic was starting to feel familiar and normal the more she used it. Zelda seemed to have similar summoning power to what she’d had with Tri, and she wondered if that was a hard limit forever or if she’d continue to grow on her own. She wondered if she’d be able to learn new echoes. She tried not to think about teleportation.

Zelda left Link at the dojo because he was very excited about trying some challenges. She did one last test herself, walking out to the edge of town and trying a few more echoes once she was sure his session would have started. No problems. She was exhilarated with success and exhausted from so much magic and training all in one day. She summoned one last bed and decided it was time for a nap.

***

When Link came out of his training session, he found Zelda in a bed on a tree, done with her nap and reading over her Goron magic notes and watching the birds. He immediately started laughing when he saw her.

“Oh hush, treetop beds are the safest place to rest between battles,” she claimed airily.

He looked at her suspiciously, “Did you offend someone in Kakariko enough that there’s going to be a battle?”

She laughed, “No, although they do think I’m weird for liking the dojo so much.”

Link grinned back at her, “I like it too.”

Zelda smiled back, “I like you.” Then she realized what she’d said and flushed. “You know, I feel like I haven’t said it but even if you’re maybe not a magical trigger for me, I do need you. For learning to use the sword, for your note taking, for your ability to make me laugh even when I’m all up in my head.” She fluttered her hand around her face. “Being with you makes me better. And I do like you. A lot. You, um, probably figured that part out. I tried to make it obvious but I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

Link looked up at her. From this distance she couldn’t see enough of his face to guess what he was thinking and she worried she’d overdone it or that this was too much, that her needing him was too much. But then he spoke, “I’m not having this conversation while you’re in a bed in a tree way up there. Let me come up.”

She laughed as his words broke her out of her worries. It wasn’t right to say that he always knew what to say, since he clearly did not, but somehow he’d managed to nudge her thoughts when she needed it, again.

Link clambered up to the treetop then onto the bed with her, where he immediately enveloped her in a hug. She leaned into him and he rested his forehead against her temple. “I like you too.” Their faces were so close that Zelda wondered if she should turn and kiss him properly, but before she could work up the nerve, he let go and fumbled in his pockets before pulling something out. “I, uh made some notes in case I forgot some stuff I wanted to tell you. I was going to write a letter but it, well…”

He unfolded a very beat up piece of paper and kind of waved it at her. Unlike his neat notes from the meeting with the Goron elders, this one was filled with things that had been crossed out and it looked like there was a doodle of a horse eating grass in one of the corners. Zelda wondered if he’d written all of that while she was with Darston or if he’d been at it for days.

Link glanced at at the note, took a deep breath, then folded it back up again before Zelda could read much of anything on it.

“I don’t know if I can say it all. Um. Being with you makes me better too. I like hearing your stories and you make me want to try telling you more my own. I like that while I was worrying about what to do with myself now that the rifts were gone you were thinking about helping a friend. And then you asked me to come with you and it was the best thing that had happened to me in forever and I didn’t even understand how great it was until you were letting me try your clothes on and dragging me to things like the ‘Eldin Death Road of Pain’ just because you thought I’d like it. I want to go everywhere with you.”

He took a shuddering breath. Zelda wasn’t sure if he was going to continue so she wrapped her arms back around him in another hug, but he didn’t quite relax into it. She gave him a few moments but when he didn’t start talking she murmured gently, “Hey, you don’t have to say it all right now. We’re going to spend lots of time together, right?”

Link finally leaned into the hug and rested his head against her shoulder now that he wasn’t looking at her for a reaction. She felt him nod, then he quietly added words, “I really want to.”

“Can I ask a yes or no question, though? I mean, after this one?”

She can feel him laugh a bit against her shoulder, then he nods again.

“Is it okay if I kiss you now?”

Link pulled away from the hug for a moment to make eye contact and nod again, and there it is, that smile she wanted to see always. She hopes she’s radiating the same kind of joy at him as she leans over to press her lips to his.

***

Bonus Link Internal Monologues:

Okay, we’re off the mountain. Time to talk magic.

Hm, she’s not still thinking we’re magically linked? Or maybe not magically linked? She’s not just keeping me around for that? Oh goddesses, that is a relief. And… a disappointment? Did I want more magical destiny? Haven’t I had enough? Hasn’t *Zelda* had enough?

Wow, I was not expecting a sleep dojo.

Magical experimenting is fun. That is a lot of beds. I guess she’s trying to stick to non-monster echoes in town so no one gets scared but I wonder if she can summon any monsters I’ve never seen? We need to play with this some more on the way back.

Oh, I wonder if the dojo has monsters I haven’t seen? It’s my turn to go in there!

That was fun, now where did Zelda get to?

Hah, she’s in a tree. With a bed, of course. The bed thing is never not going to be funny, is it?

Oh, oh, it’s talking time. Uh. Am I ready for this? Uh, we should be closer, right?

So not ready for this. Even with all that thinking and writing. Not ready not ready. Gonna do it anyhow. Courage.

Hm, she’s right. Doesn’t all have to be now. Maybe I can actually write a proper letter too. Later.

Oh, yes. Yes please. Please. Oh. *oh*

Lots of time together. Yes, please.

Chapter Text

I decided to stick the epilogue in a separate work because it probably needed a different rating, so here's a link for those of you subscribed to this work: One Princess Too Many